Wednesday, April 3, 2013

An Afganistani boy took admission in an American school ... Teacher : Whats your name ? Boy : Nadir Teacher : No, now you are in America, your name is Johnny from today. Boy went home and mom asked: How was the day Nadir? Boy : I am an American now, call me Johnny. Mom and Dad both got offended and beat him up. Next day he was back to school all bruised ... Teacher : What happened Johnny ? Boy: Ma'm, just 6 hours after I became American, I was attacked by two Afganistani terrorists ...:P

Lady On Phone.. Hi Sir, I want To Meet & Talk To u. U Are The father Of 1 Of My Kids. Man Stunnd...Omg! R U Riya No Anu? No Pari? No Jasi? No Lady in confusion No Sir.. I am The Class Teacher Of Ur Son.

SIMBU’S NOT IN YET! The latest buzz in the industry is that Simbu is all set to be seen in Ajith’s next with Siruthai Siva. It’s being said that Simbu met Ajith recently, and expressed his desire to share screenspace in one of his films. And Ajith graciously agreed to have him make a guest [...]

WHAT’S THE TITLE NOW? V Lakshmi The latest buzz in the industry is that Ajith’s film with Siruthai Siva has been titled Vetri Kondaan. It’s being said that the title would depict Ajith’s rise to stardom in the industry. However, a bewildered Siva denies that he’s zeroed in on a title for the film yet! [...]

The wait is over for all Ajith Kumar’s fans, who have been waiting on their toes to know the name of his next movie. Yes, the name of his next movie has been revealed by a secret source. But it is not the title of Vishnuvardhan’s movie, which is revealed, but the Thala’s other movie [...]

THREE MEN WHO INFLUENCED SRIDEVI THREE MEN WHO INFLUENCED SRIDEVI Priya Gupta Well, that’s not in real life, but in her upcoming film English Vinglish. The film is about a middle-class housewife from small-town India, who struggles with English, which is her biggest insecurity and how she learns the language and conquers her fear. We [...]

Anushka’s choice is Ajith – TOI Anushka Shetty’s Thaandavam opposite Vikram is all set to hit screens, but the buzz is that Anushka is doing Ajith’s 53rd film, which will be directed by Siva. Anushka also has in hand Irandam Ulagam,Alex Pandian and Singam 2 and has been getting offers from other film industries as well. Anushka is now planning to [...]

Vetri Kondaan is not the title of Ajith’s film – DC Sirutthai Shiva talks about his next venture While Ajith is busy wrapping up his next film with director Vishnuvardhan, the buzz in tinsel town is that Thala’s 53rd film with Sirutthai Shiva has a new title. Reports in certain sections of the media suggested [...]

Shortlisted few titles for Vishnuvardhan – Ajith movie. final round of selection in progress. hoping to share with you all soon.. The team is planning to release thetitle of the movie or an attractive teaser on Diwali day which happens to fall on November 13. Not just this, they are also thinking of other innovative [...]

When I was a KID: Pussy meant CAT, Sex meant GENDER, Bitch was a FEMALE DOG, Dick was a NAME, BJ was a NICK-NAME, Bang was a SOUND, Rubber was just like PLASTIC, Ass was an ANIMAL, Screw was just a NUT, Tit was a SNACK, Head meant a part of BODY !! But Now... Everything is just Damn Complicated........!! ;) :P

Boy: babe, i want to show u somethin Girl: what is it, darling? Boy: but, can i show this in your room? Girl: okay Boy: can we close the door? Girl: mmh, okay Boy: can we close the windows? Girl: very well.. (grasping) Boy: can we turn off the light? Girl: yess (even graspin) Boy: grab my hand Girl: *grabs his hand* what is it, honeyy?? Boy: Look at this. My watch can glow in the dark ;) :P

^ a. English is the official language of at least 28 states—some sources give higher figures, based on differing definitions of "official".[5] English and Hawaiian are both official languages in the state of Hawaii.

^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80 percent of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language.

^ c. Whether the United States or China is larger is disputed. The figure given is from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency'sThe World Factbook. Other sources give smaller figures. All authoritative calculations of the country's size include only the 50 states and the District of Columbia, not the territories.

^ d. The population estimate includes people whose usual residence is in the fifty states and the District of Columbia, including noncitizens. It does not include either those living in the territories, amounting to more than 4 million U.S. citizens (mostly in Puerto Rico), or U.S. citizens living outside the United States.

The first documentary evidence of the phrase "United States of America" was in an anonymously written essay published in the Virginia Gazettenewspaper in Williamsburg, Virginia on April 6, 1776.[13][14] In June 1776, Thomas Jefferson included the phrase "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" in all capitalized letters in the headline of his “original Rough draught” of the Declaration of Independence.[15][16] In the final Fourth of July version of the Declaration, the pertinent section of the title was changed to read, "The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America".[17]

On November 15, 1777, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, which states, "The Stile of this Confederacy shall be 'The United States of America'." The Franco-American treaties of 1778 used "United States of North America", but from July 11, 1778, "United States of America" was used on the country's bills of exchange, and it has been the official name ever since.[18]

The short form "United States" is also standard. Other common forms include the "U.S.", the "USA", and "America". Colloquial names include the "U.S. of A." and, internationally, the "States". "Columbia", a name popular in poetry and songs of the late 1700s,[19] derives its origin fromChristopher Columbus; it appears in the name "District of Columbia".

The standard way to refer to a citizen of the United States is as an "American". Although "United States" is the official appositional term, "American" and "U.S." are more commonly used to refer to the country adjectivally ("American values", "U.S. forces"). "American" is rarely used in English to refer to subjects not connected with the United States.[20]

The phrase "United States" was originally treated as plural—e.g., "the United States are"—including in the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1865. It became common to treat it as singular—e.g., "the United States is"—after the end of the Civil War. The singular form is now standard; the plural form is retained in the idiom "these United States".[21]

In 1492 while under contract to Spanish crown, Christopher Columbus discovered several Caribbean islands and made first contact with the indigenous people.[24] On April 2, 1513, Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León landed on what he called "La Florida" - the first documented European arrival on what would become the U.S. mainland.[25] Spanish settlements in the region were followed by ones in the present-daysouthwestern United States. French fur traders established outposts of New France around the Great Lakes; France eventually claimed much of the North American interior, down to the Gulf of Mexico.[26]

In 1674, the Dutch ceded their American territory to England; the province of New Netherland was renamed New York.[30] Many new immigrants, especially to the South, were indentured servants—some two-thirds of all Virginia immigrants between 1630 and 1680.[31] By the turn of the 18th century, African slaves were becoming the primary source of bonded labor in many regions.[32]

With the 1729 division of the Carolinas and the 1732 colonization of Georgia, the thirteen British colonies that would become the United States of America were established.[33] All had local governments with elections open to most free men, with a growing devotion to the ancient rights of Englishmen and a sense of self-government stimulating support for republicanism. All legalized the African slave trade.[34] With high birth rates, low death rates, and steady immigration, the colonial population grew rapidly. The Christian revivalist movement of the 1730s and 1740s known as the Great Awakening fueled interest in both religion and religious liberty.

Americans' eagerness to expand westward prompted a long series of Indian Wars.[45] The Louisiana Purchase of French-claimed territory under President Thomas Jefferson in 1803 almost doubled the nation's size.[46] The War of 1812, declared against Britain over various grievances and fought to a draw, strengthened U.S. nationalism.[47]

The California Gold Rush of 1848–49 further spurred western migration.[52]New railways made relocation easier for settlers and increased conflicts with Native Americans.[53] Over a half-century, up to 40 million American bison, or buffalo, were slaughtered for skins and meat and to ease the railways' spread.[54] The loss of the buffalo, a primary resource for the plains Indians, was an existential blow to many native cultures.[54]

In the North, urbanization and an unprecedented influx of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe hastened the country's industrialization. The wave of immigration, lasting until 1929, provided labor and transformed American culture.[62] National infrastructure development spurred economic growth.

The 1867 Alaska Purchase from Russia completed the country's mainland expansion. The Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890 was the last major armed conflict of the Indian Wars. In 1893, the indigenous monarchy of the Pacific Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown in a coup led by American residents; the United States annexed the archipelago in 1898. Victory in the Spanish–American War the same year demonstrated that the United States was a world power and led to the annexation of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.[63] The Philippines gained independence a half-century later; Puerto Rico and Guam remain U.S. territories.

The United States, effectively neutral during World War II's early stages after Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland in September 1939, began supplying materiel to the Allies in March 1941 through the Lend-Leaseprogram. On December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, prompting the United States to join the Allies against the Axis powers as well as the internment of Japanese Americansby the thousands.[68] Participation in the war spurred capital investment and industrial capacity. Among the major combatants, the United States was the only nation to become richer—indeed, far richer—instead of poorer because of the war.[69]

Cold War and protest politics

The United States and the Soviet Union jockeyed for power after World War II during the Cold War, dominating the military affairs of Europe throughNATO and the Warsaw Pact, respectively. While they engaged in proxy wars and developed powerful nuclear arsenals, the two countries avoided direct military conflict. The U.S. often opposed Third World left-wing movements that it viewed as Soviet-sponsored. American troops fought Communist Chinese and North Korean forces in the Korean War of 1950–53. The House Un-American Activities Committee pursued a series of investigations into suspected leftist subversion, while Senator Joseph McCarthy became the figurehead of anticommunist sentiment.

The House of Representatives has 435 voting members, each representing a congressional district for a two-year term. House seats are apportioned among the states by population every tenth year. As of the 2000 census, seven states have the minimum of one representative, while California, the most populous state, has fifty-three.[82]

The state governments are structured in roughly similar fashion; Nebraska uniquely has a unicameral legislature.[85] The governor (chief executive) of each state is directly elected. Some state judges and cabinet officers are appointed by the governors of the respective states, while others are elected by popular vote.

The original text of the Constitution establishes the structure and responsibilities of the federal government and its relationship with the individual states. Article One protects the right to the "great writ" of habeas corpus, and Article Three guarantees the right to a jury trial in all criminal cases. Amendments to the Constitution require the approval of three-fourths of the states. The Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times;[86] the first ten amendments, which make up the Bill of Rights, and the Fourteenth Amendment form the central basis of Americans' individual rights. All laws and governmental procedures are subject to judicial review and any law ruled in violation of the Constitution is voided. The principle of judicial review, not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, was declared by the Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison (1803).[87]

Total U.S. military spending in 2010, almost $700 billion, was 43% of global military spending and greater than the next fourteen largest national military expenditures combined. At 4.8% of GDP, the rate was the second-highest among the top fifteen military spenders, after Saudi Arabia.[109]The proposed base Department of Defense budget for 2012, $553 billion, is a 4.2% increase over 2011; an additional $118 billion is proposed for the military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.[110]The last American troops serving in Iraq departed in December 2011;[111] 4,484 servicemen were killed during the Iraq War.[112] Approximately 90,000 U.S. troops were serving in Afghanistan as of April 2012;[113] as of April 4, 1,924 had been killed during the War in Afghanistan.[114]

In 2009, the private sector was estimated to constitute 86.4% of the economy, with federal government activity accounting for 4.3% and state and local government activity (including federal transfers) the remaining 9.3%.[128] While its economy has reached a postindustrial level of development and its service sector constitutes 67.8% of GDP, the United States remains an industrial power.[129] The leading business field by gross business receipts is wholesale and retail trade; by net income it is manufacturing.[130]

Chemical products are the leading manufacturing field.[131] The United States is the third largest producer of oil in the world, as well as its largest importer.[132] It is the world's number one producer of electrical and nuclear energy, as well as liquid natural gas, sulfur, phosphates, and salt. Whileagriculture accounts for just under 1% of GDP,[129] the United States is the world's top producer of corn[133] and soybeans.[134]Coca-Cola and McDonald'sare the two most recognized brands in the world.[135]

In August 2010, the American labor force consisted of 154.1 million people. With 21.2 million people, government is the leading field of employment. The largest private employment sector is health care and social assistance, with 16.4 million people. About 12% of workers are unionized, compared to 30% in Western Europe.[136] The World Bank ranks the United States first in the ease of hiring and firing workers.[137]

In 2009, the United States had the third highest labor productivity per person in the world, behind Luxembourg and Norway. It was fourth in productivity per hour, behind those two countries and the Netherlands.[138] Compared to Europe, U.S. property and corporate income tax rates are generally higher, while labor and, particularly, consumption tax rates are lower.[139]

Geography and environment

The land area of the contiguous United States is 2,959,064 square miles (7,663,941 km2). Alaska, separated from the contiguous United States by Canada, is the largest state at 663,268 square miles (1,717,856 km2). Hawaii, occupying an archipelago in the central Pacific, southwest of North America, is 10,931 square miles (28,311 km2) in area.[140]

The United States is the world's third or fourth largest nation by total area (land and water), ranking behind Russia and Canada and just above or below China. The ranking varies depending on how two territories disputed by China and India are counted and how the total size of the United States is measured: calculations range from 3,676,486 square miles (9,522,055 km2)[141] to 3,717,813 square miles (9,629,091 km2)[142] to 3,794,101 square miles (9,826,676 km2).[1] Measured by only land area, the United States is third in size behind Russia and China, just ahead of Canada.[143]

The U.S. ecology is considered "megadiverse": about 17,000 species of vascular plants occur in the contiguous United States and Alaska, and over 1,800 species of flowering plants are found in Hawaii, few of which occur on the mainland.[146] The United States is home to more than 400 mammal, 750 bird, and 500 reptile and amphibian species.[147] About 91,000 insect species have been described.[148]

The United States also observes tribal sovereignty of the Native Nations. Though reservations are within state borders, the reservation is a sovereign. While the United States recognizes this sovereignty, other countries may not.[155]

Income and human development

According to the United States Census Bureau, the pretax median household income in 2010 was $49,445. The median ranged from $64,308 among Asian American households to $32,068 among African American households.[118] Using purchasing power parity exchange rates, the overall median is similar to the most affluent cluster of developed nations. After declining sharply during the middle of the 20th century, poverty rates have plateaued since the early 1970s, with 11–15% of Americans below the poverty line every year, and 58.5% spending at least one year in poverty between the ages of 25 and 75.[156][157] In 2010, 46.2 million Americans lived in poverty, a figure that rose for the fourth year in a row.[118]

The U.S. welfare state is one of the least extensive in the developed world, reducing both relative poverty and absolute poverty by considerably less than the mean for rich nations,[158][159] though combined private and public social expenditures per capita are relatively high.[160] While the American welfare state effectively reduces poverty among the elderly,[161] it provides relatively little assistance to the young.[162] A 2007 UNICEFstudy of children's well-being in twenty-one industrialized nations ranked the United States next to last.[163]

Between 1947 and 1979, real median income rose by over 80% for all classes, with the incomes of poor Americans rising faster than those of the rich.[164] However, income gains since then have been slower, less widely shared, and accompanied by increased economic insecurity.[164][165]Median household income has increased for all classes since 1980,[166] largely owing to more dual-earner households, the closing of the gender pay gap, and longer work hours, but the growth has been strongly tilted toward the very top.[158][164][167]

Consequently, the share of income of the top 1%—21.8% of total reported income in 2005—has more than doubled since 1980,[168] leaving the United States with the greatest income inequality among developed nations.[158][169] The United States has a progressive tax system which equates to higher income earners paying a larger percentage of their income in taxes.[170] The top 1% pays 27.6% of all federal taxes, while the top 10% pays 54.7%.[171]

The United States largely developed the ARPANET and its successor, the Internet. Today, 64% of research and development funding comes from the private sector.[177] The United States leads the world in scientific research papers and impact factor.[178] As of April 2010, 68% of American households had broadband Internet service.[179] The country is the primary developer and grower of genetically modified food, representing half of the world's biotech crops.[180]

Transportation

Personal transportation is dominated by automobiles, which operate on a network of 13 million roads,[182] including one of the world's longest highway systems.[183] The world's second largest automobile market,[184] the United States has the highest rate of per-capita vehicle ownership in the world, with 765 vehicles per 1,000 Americans.[185] About 40% of personal vehicles are vans, SUVs, or light trucks.[186] The average American adult (accounting for all drivers and nondrivers) spends 55 minutes driving every day, traveling 29 miles (47 km).[187]

Energy

The United States energy market is 29,000 terawatt hours per year. Energy consumption per capita is 7.8 tons of oil equivalent per year, the 10th highest rate in the world. In 2005, 40% of this energy came from petroleum, 23% from coal, and 22% from natural gas. The remainder was supplied by nuclear power and renewable energy sources.[196] The United States is the world's largest consumer of petroleum.[197] For decades, nuclear power has played a limited role relative to many other developed countries, in part due to public perception in the wake of a 1979 accident. In 2007, several applications for new nuclear plants were filed.[198] The United States has 27% of global coal reserves.[199]

The United States has many competitive private and public institutions of higher education. According to prominent international rankings, 13 or 15 American colleges and universities are ranked among the top 20 in the world.[203][204] There are also local community colleges with generally more open admission policies, shorter academic programs, and lower tuition. Of Americans twenty-five and older, 84.6% graduated from high school, 52.6% attended some college, 27.2% earned a bachelor's degree, and 9.6% earned graduate degrees.[205] The basic literacy rate is approximately 99%.[1][206] The United Nations assigns the United States an Education Index of 0.97, tying it for 12th in the world.[207]

The United States life expectancy of 78.4 years at birth ranks it 50th among 221 nations.[209] Increasing obesity in the United States and health improvements elsewhere have contributed to lowering the country's rank in life expectancy from 1987, when it was 11th in the world.[210] Obesity rates in the United States are among the highest in the world.[211] Approximately one-third of the adult population is obese and an additional third is overweight;[212] the obesity rate, the highest in the industrialized world, has more than doubled in the last quarter-century.[213] Obesity-relatedtype 2 diabetes is considered epidemic by health care professionals.[214] The infant mortality rate of 6.06 per thousand places the United States 176th out of 222 countries.[215]

The U.S. health care system far outspends any other nation's, measured in both per capita spending and percentage of GDP.[216] Health care coverage in the United States is a combination of public and private efforts, and is not universal as in all other developed countries. In 2004, private insurance paid for 36% of personal health expenditures, private out-of-pocket payments covered 15%, and federal, state, and local governments paid for 44%.[217]

In 2005, 46.6 million Americans, 15.9% of the population, were uninsured, 5.4 million more than in 2001. The main cause of this rise is the drop in the number of Americans with employer-sponsored health insurance.[218] The subject of uninsured and underinsured Americans is a major political issue.[219] In 2006, Massachusetts became the first state to mandate universal health insurance.[220]Federal legislation passed in early 2010 will create a near-universal health insurance system around the country by 2014.

State courts conduct most criminal trials; federal courts handle certain designated crimes as well as certain appeals from the state systems.Federal law prohibits a variety of drugs, although states sometimes pass laws in conflict with federal regulations. The smoking age is generally 18, and the drinking age is generally 21.

The United States has the highest documented incarceration rate[225] and total prison population[226] in the world. At the start of 2008, more than 2.3 million people were incarcerated, more than one in every 100 adults.[227] The current rate is about seven times the 1980 figure,[228] and over three times the figure in Poland, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country with the next highest rate.[229]African American males are jailed at about six times the rate of white males and three times the rate of Hispanic males.[225] The country's high rate of incarceration is largely due to sentencing and drug policies.[225][230]

Capital punishment is sanctioned in the United States for certain federal and military crimes, and in thirty-four states. Since 1976, when the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty after a four-year moratorium, there have been more than 1,000 executions.[231] In 2010, the country had the fifth highest number of executions in the world, following China, Iran, North Korea, andYemen.[232] In 2007, New Jersey became the first state to legislatively abolish the death penalty since the 1976 Supreme Court decision, followed by New Mexico in 2009 and Illinois in 2011.[233]

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the country's population now to be 314,490,000,[2] including an estimated 11.2 million illegal immigrants.[235] The U.S. population almost quadrupled during the 20th century, from about 76 million in 1900.[236] The third most populous nation in the world, after China and India, the United States is the only major industrialized nation in which large population increases are projected.[237] Even with a birth rate of 13 per 1,000, 35% below the world average, its population growth rate is positive at 0.9%, significantly higher than those of many developed nations.[238] In fiscal year 2011, over 1 million immigrants (most of whom entered through family reunification) were granted legal residence.[239] Mexico has been the leading source of new residents for over two decades; since 1998, China, India, and the Philippines have been in the top four sending countries every year.[240] 9 million Americans identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, making up 4% of the population.[241]

The population growth of Hispanic and Latino Americans (the terms are officially interchangeable) is a major demographic trend. The 50.5 million Americans of Hispanic descent[243] are identified as sharing a distinct "ethnicity" by the Census Bureau; 64% of Hispanic Americans are of Mexican descent.[244] Between 2000 and 2010, the country's Hispanic population increased 43% while the non-Hispanic population rose just 4.9%.[234] Much of this growth is from immigration; as of 2007, 12.6% of the U.S. population was foreign-born, with 54% of that figure born in Latin America.[245] Fertility is also a factor; as of 2010 the average Hispanic woman gave birth to 2.4 children in her lifetime, compared to 2.0 for non-Hispanic black women and 1.8 for non-Hispanic white women (below the replacement rate of 2.1).[246]Minorities (as defined by the Census Bureau as all those beside non-Hispanic, non-multiracial whites) constituted 36.3% of the population in 2010,[247] and over 50% of children under age 1,[248] and are projected to constitute the majority by 2042.[249]

English is the de facto national language. Although there is no official language at the federal level, some laws—such as U.S. naturalization requirements—standardize English. In 2010, about 230 million, or 80% of the population aged five years and older, spoke only English at home. Spanish, spoken by 12% of the population at home, is the second most common language and the most widely taught second language.[256][257] Some Americans advocate making English the country's official language, as it is in at least twenty-eight states.[5] Both Hawaiian and English are official languages in Hawaii by state law.[258]

While neither has an official language, New Mexico has laws providing for the use of both English and Spanish, as Louisiana does for English and French.[259]Other states, such as California, mandate the publication of Spanish versions of certain government documents including court forms.[260] Many jurisdictions with large numbers of non-English speakers produce government materials, especially voting information, in the most commonly spoken languages in those jurisdictions. Several insular territories grant official recognition to their native languages, along with English: Samoan and Chamorro are recognized by American Samoa and Guam, respectively; Carolinian and Chamorro are recognized by the Northern Mariana Islands; Spanish is an official language of Puerto Rico and is more widely spoken than English there.

Family structure

In 2007, 58% of Americans age 18 and over were married, 6% were widowed, 10% were divorced, and 25% had never been married.[268] Women now mostly work outside the home and receive a majority of bachelor's degrees.[269]

The U.S. teenage pregnancy rate, 79.8 per 1,000 women, is the highest among OECD nations.[271]Abortion policy was left to the states until the Supreme Court legalized the practice in 1973. The issue remains highly controversial, with public opinion closely divided for many years. Many states ban public funding of the procedure and restrict late-term abortions, require parental notification for minors, and mandate a waiting period. While the abortion rate is falling, the abortion ratio of 241 per 1,000 live births and abortion rate of 15 per 1,000 women aged 15–44 remain higher than those of most Western nations.[272]

Popular media

The world's first commercial motion picture exhibition was given in New York City in 1894, using Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope. The next year saw the first commercial screening of a projected film, also in New York, and the United States was in the forefront of sound film's development in the following decades. Since the early 20th century, the U.S. film industry has largely been based in and around Hollywood, California. Director D. W. Griffith was central to the development of film grammar and Orson Welles's Citizen Kane(1941) is frequently cited as the greatest film of all time.[284] American screen actors like John Wayne andMarilyn Monroe have become iconic figures, while producer/entrepreneur Walt Disney was a leader in both animated film and movie merchandising. Themajor film studios of Hollywood have produced the most commercially successful movies in history, such as Star Wars (1977) and Titanic (1997), and the products of Hollywood today dominate the global film industry.[285]

Americans are the heaviest television viewers in the world,[286] and the average viewing time continues to rise, reaching five hours a day in 2006.[287] The four major broadcast networks are all commercial entities. Americans listen to radio programming, also largely commercialized, on average just over two-and-a-half hours a day.[288] Aside from web portals and search engines, the most popular websites are Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia, Blogger,eBay, and Craigslist.[289]

Food

Mainstream American cuisine is similar to that in other Western countries. Wheat is the primary cereal grain. Traditional American cuisine uses indigenous ingredients, such as turkey, venison, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, squash, and maple syrup, which were consumed by Native Americans and early European settlers. Slow-cooked pork and beef barbecue, crab cakes, potato chips, and chocolate chip cookies are distinctively American foods. Soul food, developed by African slaves, is popular around the South and among many African Americans elsewhere. Syncreticcuisines such as Louisiana creole, Cajun, and Tex-Mex are regionally important.

Characteristic dishes such as apple pie, fried chicken, pizza, hamburgers, and hot dogs derive from the recipes of various immigrants. French fries, Mexican dishes such as burritos and tacos, and pasta dishes freely adapted from Italian sources are widely consumed.[296] Americans generally prefer coffee to tea. Marketing by U.S. industries is largely responsible for making orange juice and milk ubiquitous breakfast beverages.[297]

The American fast food industry, the world's largest, pioneered the drive-through format in the 1930s. Fast food consumption has sparked health concerns. During the 1980s and 1990s, Americans' caloric intake rose 24%;[296] frequent dining at fast food outlets is associated with what public health officials call the American "obesity epidemic".[298] Highly sweetened soft drinks are widely popular, and sugared beverages account for 9% of American caloric intake.[299]

^"To the inhabitants of Virginia," by A PLANTER. Dixon and Hunter’s Virginia Gazette #1287 - April 6, 1776, Williamsburg, Virginia. Letter is also included in Peter Force'sAmerican Archives Vol. 5

^"You read it here first" by Rusty Carter, August 18, 2012, Virginia Gazette, "He did a search of the archives and found the letter on the front page of the April 6, 1776, edition, published by Hunter & Dixon."